Business groups urge gov’t to solve Mindanao power woes

Business groups in Mindanao have urged the government to immediately address the power supply shortage on the island as it could no longer “afford to bleed economically over the next two years.”

“Numerous power summits, conferences and press briefings had been conducted to address the Mindanao power problem, yet no new significant power plants have come on stream despite those initiatives,” the groups said in a joint position paper.

“Mindanao demands concrete plans and directions to address the capacity shortage problem,” they added.

The groups believe that the island’s power supply woes can be addressed by allowing solar power developers to put up their facilities as soon as possible.

Some quarters said solar power was the most expensive among all renewable energy sources.

“A few centavos may be added due to the addition of renewable energy; however, this is far below the rate impact experienced in the past year even if there were no new capacities added to the grid,” they said in the position paper.

Signatories to the position paper were representatives from the regional office of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Misamis Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc.; lIigan Chamber of Commerce; Agusan del Sur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc.; Dipolog Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.; Sarangani Chamber of Commerce; South Western Sulu Chamber of Commerce; and Tawi-Tawi Chamber of Commerce.

These chambers pointed out that solar power was the immediate solution to Mindanao’s power supply woes as first. They said the solar photovoltaic technology was the fastest among the RE sources than could be deployed, with installation time of six to seven months. Solar power complements the generation of existing hydropower plants on the island, they added.

Hydropower plants in Mindanao provide about half of the whole island’s electricity supply.—Amy Remo